Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has been diagnosed with swine flu. A panel of doctors has been formed to treat him. Dhirendra Pray for Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s Good health. God give him speedy and safe recovery.

Something interesting for those who are teaching art and crafts. NID is offering faculty training and development programme for art and crafts teaches. Read the complete news below which I found on times of india website.

Faculty training and development programmes for science teachers are common, with a lot changing in their field. National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad is offering a similar opportunity for art and craft teachers.

Industry programmes and projects (IP&P) department at the institute is conducting a three-day summer workshop ‘Thinking with Design’.

Starting on April 21, its objective is to orient and empower teachers to benefit students by moulding their creative thinking towards design.

“There’s a slight distinction between art and design. The world has become open to the concept of design and this sensitivity needs to be instilled in children at an early age. This will be possible only if teachers have an inclination towards design,” said activity chairperson of IP&P Anil Sinha who will conducting the workshop.

At the workshop, minds of teachers will be opened up. So that they give students a chance to experiment. Art can’t be taught with instructions since it’s a creative field, only techniques can be taught, added Sinha.

The programme content will include what and why of design, elements and processes, and colour and design. It will have lecture sessions, individual and group assignments and case studies.

“We have received numerous inquiries, but confirmation only from 15 participants. While none are from Gujarat, eight are from Kolkata,” said Rupali Rai from IP&P. Participating teachers will be given a certificate.

Good Morning friends, ahmedabad join Earth Hour Campaign. I think this is something we all should know and we all should support. I like to raise my hands of support to this Earth Hour campaign. I have informed all my family members and friends to switch off power between 8:30 and 9-30 pm tonight. I wish maximum amadavadi join this movement. I read the complete news at times of india website. I am sharing that here.

Get ready for candlelight dinners and some romantic moments with your beloved. For, Saturday night could be darker than usual. No negative connotation here. It will be a wilful blackout on Saturday. The idea is to conserve energy.

This will be Ahmedabad’s turn to join the Earth Hour campaign after Delhi and Mumbai joined the movement. In Gujarat, the move has been initiated by a government-undertaking, Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA). The organisation has asked citizens to join in by keeping power in their houses switched off between 8.30 and 9.30 pm. GEDA has also decided to host a gathering at Kankaria Lake on Saturday evening where citizens will enjoy the conscious blackout.

“The event aims at gathering a huge crowd at one place so that much power is saved. The power will be cut off at Naginawadi also, except the lights needed for security purposes,” said Daksha Vaja from GEDA.

“The theme of the event is Save Energy, Save Earth. There will be audio messages that will be played at the venue to create awareness about importance of saving energy,” she said.

Not just GEDA, Gujarat Science City is also creating awareness among its volunteers to support the programme through its different school clubs across the state.

Le Meridien, Ahmedabad, too announced that it will participate in the Earth Hour. The hotel will turn off all non-essential interior lighting and will use candlelights in restaurants.

“We will switch off air conditioners, without compromising on customers’ comfort. We expect to save 500 KW per hour in Ahmedabad and 25 lakh KW per hour globally,” said manager Mrinal Sarkar.

Good Morning friends, Word is going towards worst financial condition. I read something which I like to share here. Banking to cover 100% Gujarat homes by April. It’s something being a Gujarati I take proud Each citizen of Gujarat is contributing towards the progress of state economy. Read the news I read at timesofindia website.

By April 15, not a single household covered under the last census in Gujarat will be left without a bank account. The state is all set to

Sources said Gujarat will be the fourth state, and the most populous one, to achieve 100 per cent financial inclusion after Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi.

Banks in Gujarat have so far opened 95.63 lakh banks accounts, covering 97 per cent households with basic banking service. Out of 26 districts, households in 24 districts have already been fully covered by banks. Ahmedabad and Surat are the two districts where coverage stands at 96 per cent as of now.

“We are striving to achieve 100 per cent target before the middle of April,” said Mukesh Kumar Jain, general manger, Dena Bank, and convenor of State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC).

There are in all 5,672 branches of banks in the state covering the population of just over five crore.

Based on the 2001 census, there were over 96.91 household, of which 53.45 lakh household were not covered under banking facilities. “All banks together have covered almost all the households under a drive launched in January 2006,” Jain added.

In November 2005, the Reserve Bank of India had announced a series of measures to include poorest of poor in the banking net and to free them from the clutches of unscrupulous money-lenders. Convenor banks of the SLBCs were given the responsibility of reaching 100 per cent financial inclusion.

The objective of the financial inclusion is to give benefits of all kind banking service to the people at affordable cost by opening bank accounts. Banking sources said that postal saving accounts are also covered under the drive.

Good Morning friends. On March 11, 2009 we have lost a precious dimond on earth. Vimala Thakar, who stays at Mt.Abu passed away. Dhirendra Patel pays tribute to Vimala ji. A little information About Vimala Thakar.

Vimala Thakar (born 15 April 1923- passed away on 11 March 2009) was an Indian social activist and spiritual teacher. She was born into a middle-class Brahmin family in central India, she was interested in spiritual matters from an early age. She pursued this interest with meditation and spiritual practices through her youth.

Later she became active in the Bhoodan (Land Gift) Program. This program, led by Vinoba Bhave, persuaded landlords to give land to poor farmers. Through the 1950s, several millions of acres of farmland were so redistributed.

In 1960, Thakar attended talks given by, and met with, the philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti. This meeting was to change her life. She dedicated herself to teaching meditation and philosophy. For the next two decades, she traveled between India, the U.S. and Europe, teaching and giving talks on spirituality. After 1979, she curtailed her travel outside India, and her teachings emphasize balancing ‘inner’ spiritual development with ‘outer’ social development. From the 1960s to the 1980s, she taught meditation retreats in thirty-five countries. She stopped traveling outside of India in 1991, and now resides in Mount Abu, in Rajasthan, where she meets with people from all over the world.

She passed away on 11 March 2009, on the day of Holi, the festival of colour in India. She was living at Mount Abu, Rajasthan, India during her last years.